---
title: SB 605. Prosecuting Attorneys; additional grounds for discipline of a district attorney or solicitor-general or for his or her removal or involuntary retirement from office; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb605
cite_as: SB 605, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb605
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb605.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb605/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73715
date: 2026-05-11
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1079
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb605.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 605
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-11
last_action: Effective Date 2026-05-11
sponsors:
- Bill Cowsert
- Greg Dolezal
- Steve Gooch
- Tyler Smith
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB605/2025
upstream_id: 2124785
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- district attorneys
- prosecutor discipline
- crime victims' rights
- open records law
- criminal discovery
---
# SB 605. Prosecuting Attorneys; additional grounds for discipline of a district attorney or solicitor-general or for his or her removal or involuntary retirement from office; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 605
By: Senators Cowsert of the 46th, Dolezal of the 27th and Gooch of the 51st
AS PASSED
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 18 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to general provisions regarding prosecuting attorneys, so as to provide for additional
grounds for discipline of a district attorney or solicitor-general or for his or her removal or
involuntary retirement from office; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 1 of Chapter 18 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions regarding prosecuting attorneys, is amended by revising subsection (h)
of Code Section 15-18-32, relating to Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission,
authority, membership, ex parte communications, governance, disciplinary actions,
confidentiality, and privileged nature, as follows:
"(h) The following shall be grounds for discipline of a district attorney or solicitor-general
or for his or her removal or involuntary retirement from office:
(1) Mental or physical incapacity interfering with the performance of his or her duties
which is, or is likely to become, permanent;
(2) Willful misconduct in office;
(3) With respect to district attorneys, willful and persistent failure to carry out duties
pursuant to Code Section 15-18-6;
(4) With respect to solicitors-general, willful and persistent failure to carry out duties
pursuant to Code Section 15-18-66;
(5) Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude;
(6) Conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the office into
disrepute; or
(7) Failure to make reasonable efforts to strictly comply with the 'Crime Victims' Bill of
Rights' set forth in Chapter 17 of Title 17;
(8) Failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50,
relating to inspection of public records;
(9) Knowingly authorizing or making a decision based upon any of the factors outlined
in paragraph (2) of subsection (i) of this Code section;
(10) Failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with Chapter 16 of Title 17, relating
to discovery in criminal procedure;
(11) Failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with the Georgia Rules of Professional
Conduct of the State Bar of Georgia; specifically, but not limited to, Rule 3.8 related to
special responsibilities of a prosecutor; or
(12) Knowingly authorizing or permitting an assistant district attorney or assistant
solicitor-general to commit any act constituting grounds for removal under paragraphs (1)
through (6) (11) of this subsection."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval and shall apply to all disciplinary proceedings initiated on or after
such date.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia Senate bill adds new grounds for disciplining, removing, or forcing the retirement of district attorneys and solicitors-general, covering victims' rights, public records, discovery, and professional conduct rules.
### Plain-language summary
Current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 15-18-32) lists reasons the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission can discipline, remove, or force the retirement of a district attorney or solicitor-general, such as incapacity, willful misconduct, or a conviction involving moral turpitude. This bill adds several new grounds tied to specific legal duties prosecutors are supposed to follow.
Under the bill, a prosecutor could face discipline for failing to make reasonable efforts to comply with the Crime Victims' Bill of Rights, the state's open records law, criminal discovery rules, or the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct (particularly Rule 3.8 on prosecutors' special responsibilities). It also covers knowingly authorizing decisions based on improper factors described elsewhere in the law. The bill extends the existing rule that a prosecutor can be disciplined for letting an assistant prosecutor commit any of these violations. The changes take effect once the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without a signature, and apply to disciplinary proceedings started on or after that date.
### What it does
- Adds failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with the Crime Victims' Bill of Rights (Title 17, Chapter 17) as grounds for discipline or removal of a district attorney or solicitor-general.
- Adds failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with Georgia's open records law (Title 50, Chapter 18, Article 4) as a disciplinary ground.
- Adds failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with criminal discovery rules (Title 17, Chapter 16) as a disciplinary ground.
- Adds failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, especially Rule 3.8 on prosecutors' special duties, as a disciplinary ground.
- Expands the rule holding a district attorney or solicitor-general responsible for knowingly permitting an assistant to commit any of these newly listed violations.
- Makes the changes effective upon the Governor's signature and applies them only to disciplinary proceedings started on or after that date.
### Who it affects
Georgia's district attorneys and solicitors-general, their assistant prosecutors, and the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, which enforces these discipline and removal standards. Crime victims and criminal defendants are indirectly affected since several new grounds tie prosecutor conduct to victims' rights and discovery obligations.
### Why it matters
By spelling out specific duties, like following victims' rights law, open records law, discovery rules, and professional conduct rules, as explicit grounds for discipline, the bill gives the oversight commission clearer authority to act against prosecutors who neglect these obligations, potentially changing how accountability cases against district attorneys and solicitors-general are brought.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises subsection (h) of O.C.G.A. § 15-18-32 to add new paragraphs (7) through (11) listing specific compliance failures as grounds for discipline or removal.
- New paragraph (7) covers failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with the Crime Victims' Bill of Rights (Title 17, Chapter 17).
- New paragraph (8) covers failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with Georgia's open records law (Title 50, Chapter 18, Article 4).
- New paragraph (10) covers failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with criminal discovery procedures (Title 17, Chapter 16).
- New paragraph (11) covers failure to make reasonable efforts to comply with the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, citing Rule 3.8 on prosecutors' special responsibilities.
- The provision on assistant prosecutors is updated so a supervising prosecutor can be disciplined for knowingly permitting an assistant to violate any of paragraphs (1) through (11), up from (1) through (6).
- Section 2 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval or the date the bill becomes law without approval, applying only to disciplinary proceedings started on or after that date.
## Status
- Status: Passed (2026-05-11)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 (2026-05-11)
- Sponsors: Bill Cowsert, Greg Dolezal, Steve Gooch, Tyler Smith
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73715
> The history, votes, and amendments (1,079 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb605.md?full=1